Deliveries of A Forest Sprite
by anjellyfish
Summary: What’s Gardenia’s reason for dressing that way? It all started with a simple delivery. The rest is self-explanatory Set 3-4 years before D/P/Pt. Gardenia/Roark & Gardenia/Volkner if you squint. R&R please.


Title: Deliveries of a forest sprite

Pairings: Gardenia/Roark and Gardenia/Volkner if you squint. I support Gardenia/Volkner but I have no problems with Gardenia/Roark either.

Summary: What's Gardenia's reason for dressing that way? It all started with a simple delivery. The rest is self-explanatory Set 3-4 years before D/P/Pt. R&R please.

A/N: This story is set 3-4 years before the events of D/P/Pt. This means that some pokèmon/evolved forms of pokèmon from Sinnoh weren't discovered yet. The evolved forms of pokèmon that weren't discovered in this time setting are Rampardos, Bastiodon, Lucario, Abomasnow, Mismagius, Floatzel, and Ambipom. Btw, please ignore the grammar/selling errors. I tried my best to find them all but I'm sure there are still some left.

Gardenia was known for looking very distinctively. Her hair smelled of acorns and a peculiar hint of dewy early-morning grass. It was cut to her shoulders, but was gathered up and hidden under a large, black head band; she'd become agitated if her hair got in the way while she was busy doing something.

Her choice of clothes were most peculiar; beige, ripped-at-the-knees cargo jeans, green ankle-high hiking boots, a black sweater which was cut short at her mid-rift and a green drape cover-up which hung along her shoulders.

Before starting out on her journey to become "Sinnoh's greatest grass-type pokèmon trainer" she had long, sun-kissed brown hair that reached down to her waist. Her shoes were her favorite white sneakers, slightly worn out, but had sentimental value. Her beige cargo jeans reached just above her ankles and were very comfortable to move around in; something she appreciated due to her need to move around all day. She also wore a black top and over it, a loose green jacket.

It wasn't until she had met several people, that her complete wardrobe had changed. Long before she ever became the gym leader of Eterna City, she set out to meet Professor Rowan in Sandgem Town with her best friend, Budew. He had requested for her help in studying the evolution of pokèmon; in her case, specifically grass pokèmon. Her job was to help discover newly evolved forms of the currently existing pokèmon in the region.

She would never turn down an offer that required her to find new grass pokèmon. After all, her dream was to be the greatest grass-type pokèmon trainer.

-The coal's darker on the other side-

It took her only about three days to get to her neighboring city, Oreburgh City. It took her some time to getting used to. Every where she turned, she would see coal and dirt and everything that was not green. While there, she had accidentally stumbled into a deep hole and had completely torn the soles of her shoes off.. Droplets formed at the corners of her eyes as she mumbled to herself in pity; at the same time, she was slightly amused that she had literally "surfed" through a pile of rocks, dirt, and coal.

Budew, who was in panic, ran off to request for some aid. After what seemed like an hour to young Gardenia, a boy whose eyes were framed with sunglasses and wore a helmet came with a long rope, slung over his shoulder. "Need help outta' that hole, miss?" he smirked and then whistled loudly to get her attention when he realized that she hadn't heard him. The loud noise had caught her attention and she finally looked up to see a long rope hanging off the side of the hole.

With overwhelming relief, she kicked her sole-less shoes off and tightly gripped the rope, climbing out of the hole with ease. As she neared the top, a hand appeared in front of her face, and already fatigued from climbing, she gladly accepted it and was soon pulled out.

"That's some good climbing you did back there." the boy whistled playfully. Gardenia wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand and looked up at the boy, who looked slightly older than her by a year or so. She narrowed her eyes and examined him, and then blushed when she realized that he wasn't wearing what she thought was sunglasses.

"Why are your glasses so _dirty_?" She hadn't meant to sound rude, but rudely asked anyway.

The boy laughed. "Been working out in the coal mines all day. The coal dust sorta' messes with everything." he exclaimed and removed his glasses to wipe them with a small cloth that he pulled out of his pocket. His hair reached his shoulders and was a reddish-auburn color. There were specs of coal along his jaw and cheeks and his clothes were filthy.

"You don't look to be from here, miss." he exclaimed and placed his glasses back on his face, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You from somewhere else?" Gardenia crossed her legs Indian-style and nodded. "Eterna City, Sir." she politely replied. The boy frowned. "What? I'm not old. Just call me Roark. No 'sir' please." he politely requested.

Gardenia smiled. "Well, thanks for helping me out back there, Roark. Now I've gotta get to Professor Rowan's lab in Sandgem Town. Maybe I'll see you again when I'm heading back home."

She dusted the dirt off of her feet and stood up, getting ready to leave when Roark planted a firm grip on her shoulder. "Wait a sec, miss. You're gonna leave with no proper foot wear?" he asked, with a hint of mockery. Gardenia paused and burst into tiny fits of laughter.

"Where is the nearest shoe store, Roark?" she finally asked. Roark chuckled and shook his head. "I have a spare set of hiking boots with me. Pretty handy for long-distance traveling." he exclaimed and pulled two green colored hiking boots from his back-pack. "You go around walking out in the open with no shoes; people will start to think that you're a crazy girl." he exclaimed. "Wow, thanks! You're the best, Roark!" her cheeks grew pink with delight as she took the boots from her new friend.

"It's getting dark. Now you go on and take care of yourself alright, miss?" he gave her a short nod. Gardenia nodded in return and waved goodbye. "I'll see you around, Roark! Thanks for the footgear!" she shouted as she headed for route 203.

-Like son, like father-

After her meeting with Professor Rowan, he had left Sinnoh in order to study the pokèmon in Kanto with Professor Oak. She was instructed to travel the different cities of Sinnoh and deliver pokèmon to the specified gym leaders and trainers of each city. The city that was a short way from Sandgem Town was Canalave City -- where she had to deliver a little Shieldon to Byron, the Gym Leader.

She stopped to rest for a night at Jubilife city and awoke the next day, very early in the morning to get to Canalave before noon. Just as she set out for her first delivery (and very first assignment from Professor Rowan) she was attacked by a crowd of wild Glameow. "Run for your liiiiiiiife!" she shrieked to no one in particular as she ran as fast as she could to the next city. The wild pokèmon had already torn the bottom hems of her favorite jeans. The ends, Gardenia imagined, were jagged, ugly, and uneven cuts that stopped just above her knees.

She reached the entrance to Canalave City but stumbled over her own foot and fell, head first, into the ground. She shifted her body and saw the wild Glameow quickly closing in on her. Just then, her entire life flashed in front of her; she saw herself -- although she looked very different -- challenging various trainers in an indoor field, she saw herself crying at one of her pokèmon's funeral, she witnessed her own wedding, her first time losing her innocence, her first child, her second child -- Then she heard herself telling a story to her grandchildren.

"As I laid there, I thought that I was going to die." was what she had told her grandchildren in her vision. She closed her eyes shut and braced herself for death.

Suddenly, a scatter of loud meows echoed in her ears and the sound of retreat blessed her. She cracked an eye open and saw a tall man with a black cape laughing heartily while waving a shovel in the air. "Take that you troublesome creatures!" and he turned around to see if she was hurt.

Gardenia felt uncomfortable when she had realized that he was examining her body for any injuries and finally spoke up. "No scratches; just torn up clothes." she assured him that she was fine. The man nodded and balanced his shovel along the back of his neck. "They've been terrorizing trainers who try to come here. That's why I don't get much challengers lately." he groaned.

_Challengers? _Gardenia arched a brow in curiosity. "Are you Byron, by any chance?" she questioned, to which the man had nodded in response. Immediately, she reached into her bag and pulled out a Shieldon and a Cranidos with a note attached to the pokèballs they were in. "From Professor Rowan, Sir." she exclaimed and handed the pokèmon to him. "Huh?" was all he said and he read the note briefly before nodding. "I see, so he's gone to Kanto for more research. That old man needs to take a break from all of that stuff one day." he thought, aloud. "I accept this and will try my best to contribute to his study of pokèmon evolution." he exclaimed and patted her on the shoulder. "You've done a good job of delivering these pokèmon, little girl."

"Thanks." she smiled. "And thank you for rescuing me back there, Mr. Byron, Sir." she stated with gratitude and turned in the other direction heading back to Jubilife City.

-Ever green trees, ever winter city-

She had reached Floaroma town just before it got dark and woke up early the next morning to get to Snowpoint City as early as possible. After two excruciating days of traveling up Route 217, she met a girl at Acuity Lakefront. The cold temperatures didn't bother her at all, it seemed. Surprisingly, the girl's blue jacket hung around her waist when it _should have_ been worn over her white collar shirt.

"Aren't you even a _little_ cold?!" Gardenia's curiosity urged her to ask.

Surprised to hear someone behind her, she turned around and sighed. The girl shrugged. "Not really. You get used to it after a while." She exclaimed, casually. "There's a pokèmon center in the city that's just ahead. You can stay the night and get all warmed up if you want." she suggested, softly. Gardenia nodded several times and shivered while following the girl into the snow-covered city.

That night, the girl stayed and talked with Gardenia for a while. Gardenia learned that the girl was a trainer who specialized in ice-type pokèmon. Her dream was to become an ice-type gym leader. Gardenia frowned at that thought. "Won't you become bored of battling after you win so much?" she questioned. "Trainers usually lose against gym leaders, anyway." she wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction.

The girl shrugged. "Hopefully they'll be worth while; but then again, maybe I'm not a good enough trainer to become a gym leader." she sulked. "Not _yet_." Gardenia reminded sharply, which made the girl smile. "Anyway, I'm looking for a trainer who goes by the name of…" Gardenia pulled a piece of folded paper out of her pocket and briefly scanned it.

"Can-dice? Oh, man. Professor Rowan's hand writing is horrible." she groaned.

"Mm? That's me." the girl arched a brow and stood up. "Professor Rowan sent you here to look for me?" she questioned with much curiosity. Gardenia's face lit up. "Wow, that was easy!" she chuckled and pulled a pokèball out from her bag with a small note attached to it. "A Snover from Professor Rowan." she exclaimed and carefully handed it to Candice.

Candice gasped, slightly taken aback and gladly accepted the pokèmon. She quickly scanned the note and nodded, confidently. "I accept it and will try my hardest to contribute to his pokèmon evolution observations." she gave Gardenia a look of gratitude. The sparkle in her eyes made Gardenia feel warm and fuzzy inside. "I feel a warm sensation~" Gardenia's face turned red as she grinned sluggishly. Candice frowned. "I think you're heading to the second stage of hypothermia." she warned and pulled a sweater out of her bag. "Put this on. I'll bring back some blankets for you to wrap yourself with."

Without hesitation, Gardenia pulled her green, loose-fitted jacket off; along with her black top, and slipped the sweater onto her torso. Then she looked down to see that her stomach was visible. She pulled her jacket back on and zipped it up just enough so that her bare stomach would be hidden.

Candice returned with a stack of fluffy blue and white blankets. She stopped and dumped them playfully on Gardenia to which Gardenia let out a huge sigh of satisfaction. "It's really warm in here!" Gardenia's muffled squeaks were heard from underneath the blankets. Candice grinned. "Your welcome, you silly girl." she laughed and then let out a loud yawn. "It's getting real late. I think I should be going home now. Do I need to see you off tomorrow?" she paused mid-way in her second yawn.

All she got in response was the sound of Gardenia's breathing. Candice stuck her tongue out and snickered. "Ok, goodnight, you silly girl."

-One hit K.O.-

Gardenia woke up very early the next day a hurried off to Celestic Town before Candice could wake up to see her off. She had reached the next town faster than she thought she could. She figured that it must have been the sweater that helped retain enough body heat to keep her muscles functioning until she exited snow territory.

In about two days, she finally reached Veilstone City. It was Gardenia's first time seeing a city as big as Veilstone. It took her a while before she could find a restaurant to feed Budew and herself. "Man, I'm hungry." Gardenia said weakly to Budew, which was being carried in her arms. "Let's say that it's time for lunch, Budew!" she laughed softly, to which Budew bleated in starvation.

She forced the door to the restaurant open with her shoulder and scanned the room. The restaurant was a traditional-styled Japanese restaurant. She took a seat next to a little girl who had a large stack of bowls piled at either side of her.

The man at the counter greeted her with a "How are you, miss?" and offered her Budew a bowl of water and a platter of food; Budew gratefully accepted. "And what would you like?" the man shifted his attention to her. Gardenia peaked over the stack of bowls and pointed at the girl sitting next to her. "I'd like to have whatever she's eating." she squeaked. The man laughed. "Everything on the menu?!" he nearly fell over. Gardenia frowned. "What?!" She had no knowledge about a girl who could stomach that much food in one meal.

"You got it!" the girl half burped. "I ordered everything on the menu -- and then some!" she snorted. Gardenia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "You have the stomach to handle that much…?" she was a little hesitant to ask. The girl nodded. "You bet your Budew, I do!" she flashed a grin. "Hey, chef!" she pounded her fist on the table to gain his attention. "Get her the Maylene house special, it's all on me!" she demanded.

The man arched a brow. "But that's _your_ special order. You told me not to make it for anyone else but _you_." he protested. Maylene just stared blankly at him until he sighed and gave in. "One Maylene house special, coming right up." he groaned.

Gardenia cocked her head to the side. "Maylene? Is that your name, little girl?" she questioned. Maylene frowned. "I'm not a little girl; and yes, that's me!" In response, Gardenia nodded in a slight daze. "It sounds familiar." she mumbled to herself.

Budew suddenly began nudging at her bag and cried out in an alerting tone; but Gardenia was too dazed from hunger to notice. Maylene began eating another bowl and shared her future goals and dreams between bites.

"One day, people won't treat me like a little girl anymore. They'll respect me as a trainer." she said with a determined look on her face. Gardenia yawned. "Trainers who don't overlook a person's appearances are lousy trainers." she commented. "Exactly!" Maylene's face lit up.

"Here's your food," the chef placed a bowl in front of Gardenia. It was filled to the brim with different kinds of food, ranging from vegetables to meat. "And here's your bill." the chef handed Maylene a long list of paper.

Maylene gasped with just one glance and slammed it on the table. "I HAVE TO PAY THAT MUCH!?" she shrieked and thrased around violently. "I'm going to kick someone's butt!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and tugged on Gardenia's sleeves.

"Let's battle, lady!" she declared loudly and pulled her hastily outside. Gardenia whimpered. "But I was about to eat, Maylene!" she protested but succumbed to her requests.

Gardenia only had one pokèmon with her at the time. She didn't think that she'd have to battle anyone. It was just delivering a few things, right? Regardless of that, she couldn't refuse Maylene's request. It was Budew against Tyrogue.

Gardenia never underestimated her opponents; Maylene was no exception. She worried about her Budew going up against a fighting-type. Tyrogue was violent and always thrashed its arms and legs about -- just like its' trainer; Maylene.

"Tyrogue! Use sky uppercut against Budew and send it back to the ground with a mega kick!" Maylene shouted, her hands cupped around her mouth. Gardenia watched in horror as her Budew was punched high into the air.

"Quick, Budew! Use sunny day and bring the sun out!" she called out in panic. Budew quickly followed just in time before Tyrogue kicked it back down to the ground where Budew landed roughly.

"Budew, heal yourself with synthesis." Gardenia instructed, calmly as Budew shook itself off. Budew took a deep breath and absorbed the sun's light.

Maylene's Tyrogue attempted to give it a low kick but failed and missed, due to Budew's double team effect. "Use solar beam when you're ready, Budew!" Gardenia called out.

Maylene, who was beginning to grow flustered, thrashed around violently. "Sky uppercut, one more time!" she instructed. Budew lowered its head and aimed at the approaching Tyrogue. Gardenia winced and braced herself for defeat, when Budew shot a beam out from its head, sending Tyrogue back.

Maylene cringed and called out to Tyrogue. "Hey, are you hurt? Maybe we should stop." she suggested. Tyrogue fell down to one knee, clearly weakened. Gardenia frowned. "It may be poisoned, Maylene." she stated, in concern.

"Huh? How do you know that?" Maylene arched a brow and got down to her knees to sit beside her pokèmon. "Are you poisoned, Tyrogue?" she asked, softly. Gardenia pulled out a pink berry from her pocket and handed it to Maylene. "It's a pecha berry. Tyrogue has to eat it to be cured." she exclaimed. "It may have gotten poisoned in the beginning of our battle when it punched Budew into the air. Budew has poison points around its body." she explained, carefully.

Maylene nodded and fed the berry to her pokèmon. "It's time for a break." she insisted and sent Tyrogue back into the pokèball. "I guess you win." Maylene declared, reluctantly.

Gardenia shook her head. "Nope. We'll battle again one day; and we'll both be much better trainers." she flashed a grin.

Budew, who suddenly cried out, began glowing. Maylene and Gardenia turned to see Budew open up and bloom. Flowers formed and its' shape began changing.

"It evolved into Roselia!" Maylene pointed out, with delight. Gardenia squealed. "Budew, you evolved!" she picked her newly transformed Budew up. "I'm so proud of you, but you're filled with spikes every where." she chuckled and set her Roselia down.

"Oh, by the way," Gardenia pulled out a pokèball from her bag with a note attached. "I just remembered why your name sounded so familiar." she laughed, sheepishly. "Professor Rowan instructed me to give this pokèmon to you." she presented Maylene with a Riolu.

"For me?" she cocked her head to the side and took it from her. "But it's not my birthday or anything. What's he giving this to me for?" she asked, curiously. Gardenia shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe he thinks that you'll help him with his study of pokèmon evolution; you just helped me evolve my Budew earlier." she pointed out and smiled widely.

Maylene laughed. "Wow, thanks lady." she waved goodbye. "I'll study about pokèmon and mix brains with strength in my daily training. So the next time you see me, I'll be a barefoot, fighting genius!" she declared, proudly. Gardenia waved back. "I'll be waiting." and she walked back into the restaurant to finish her now cold, meal.

Apparently, Gardenia didn't know how much Maylene hated losing. She didn't expect the special surprise that Maylene was going to give her.

In Maylene's words; "People will judge you on your appearances just like how they judge me."

-A Wave of Emotion-

It didn't take her long to finish her meal. Then she decided to take a short nap on the grass. It had been a long time since she actually laid her self on the grass. She loved the aroma that full, green grass gave out. It was a natural sleeping gas.

After she had woken up, she had found that her hair was cut short and layered in a bowl-cut at the top. A few locks of hair were left to brush against her shoulder.

She touched the ends of her hair, already missing the feeling of running her fingers through her long, golden-brown locks. She nearly cried, but soon shrugged it off.

She was going to defeat Maylene and make her apologize, one day. And then they'd become great friends afterwards.

She got up and headed for Pastoria City. She had stopped at Valor Lakefront to enjoy the beautiful view of the Lake, but noticed someone vaguely familiar.

"Is that Gardenia?"

She finally realized why he seemed familiar. "H-Hi." she stuttered, trying to turn away and leave. "Has your forehead gotten bigger since we last met?" He teased, the corners of his lips twisting into a sadistic grin. Gardenia shook her head, and kept her face down.

It was her old, friendly child hood rival, who had become mean and heartless ever since he had returned from his own journey to become a great trainer. The chaos of Team Rocket had influenced him so much, that he joined and began terrorizing other trainers as well.

"So your wimpy Budew finally evolved into a Roselia, huh? I say it's prettier than you are now." he scoffed and advanced slowly toward her. Gardenia took slow paces away. "You're foul. How could you join Team Rocket, Grunt?" she spat out.

Grunt rolled his eyes and sent his Gyarados out into the lake from a pokèball he pulled out from his back pocket. "I was always at a type disadvantage, but I always won, didn't I?" he slowly lifted a hand to point at her. "Use hyper beam on her big forehead." he let out an evil cackle.

Gardenia closed her eyes and braced herself for death, yet again.

"Wha-? GYARADOS! DON'T FALL ASLEEP, YOU IDIOT!" Grunt shouted with an agitated voice. Gardenia peeked open one eye and saw her former friend/rival's pokèmon sink into the lake and fall asleep.

"Now, the rules clearly state that any and all trainers must not use their pokèmon against any person without good reason." a loud, husky voice echoed from behind. Gardenia turned around and saw a large man in a strange wrestling outfit and a Quagsire at his side.

Grunt thrashed his hands about in frustration. "You used yawn on my Gyarados?! Who do you think you are, old man? Stay out of this!" he warned. "This little girlie here ain't done nothin' to you. No sir, she did not." The old man stated and gestured for Gardenia to come along.

"Now you come with me, little girlie and I'll take you to Pastoria City. Beautiful city, it is. You'd darn right love it there." he laughed so heartily that it made Gardenia feel like a child walking with her Grandpa. "S'cuse me, Mister." Gardenia spoke so softly that the man playfully slapped on the back to "speak up."

"I was wondering if you could take me to the gym in Pastoria City. I want to-" she was quickly interrupted by his loud laugh. "So you want to challenge the old man who's runnin' the gym, huh? Well he may be old, but he's real tough. I'm telling you now, little girlie." he slapped her on her back playfully again. Gardenia nearly fell forward but kept silent.

On the way to the gym, he explained the history of Pastoria City and pointed out the most interesting facts about the buildings they passed by. Gardenia was beginning to feel like a tourist until they finally reached the gym.

"Where here, little girlie. But too bad, the gym's closed. He took a day off today to visit Valor Lakefront." he chuckled behind his large hand. Gardenia sulked. "But weren't we just there?" she complained.

"Yup. He rescued a little girlie from a bully, earlier though. I saw it m'self" he jabbed his thumb to his chest, proudly. Gardenia blinked once. Twice.

Then she screamed. "_You're_ Crasher Wake?!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he nodded, his arrogance was apparent in his voice.

"Mister Wake, sir. I've got a delivery for you from Professor Rowan." Gardenia exclaimed quickly. Wake arched a brow. "Rowan, you say? What does my old pal want now?" he wiped his nose with the bag of his hand and grunted.

"He thinks that by giving you this pokèmon," she exclaimed and handed a pokèball with an attached note to him. "You can help with his research." she finally finished explaining.

"My next stop is Hearthome City. I have to find someone else there too." she quietly added.

"A Buizel?!" Wake's voiced boomed in her ears. "I'LL TAKE IT!" he grabbed her hand and shook it so violently, that it felt numb afterwards. "You're welcome." Gardenia said, her head was still in a daze.

Just then, a gust of wind blew in her face, and the hair covering her forehead shifted around until her forehead was visible. Gardenia sharply lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.

Wake sighed and crossed his arms. "Now, now. Are you going to let that boy get to your head with all his nonsense talk about you having a forehead the size of a Hitmonlee's foot?" he began lecturing her.

Gardenia shook her head in silence. She was beginning to feel like a child being scolded by her own grandfather. "If it makes you feel bad, then just hide it with a mask or something." he suggested. "I used to be teased for how scary my face was. Did it bother me? 'Course it did! So I put this, here, mask on and made up an excuse for wearing it." he proudly stated, pointed at the mask that covered his face.

"That's the reason why I became a wrestler in the first place!" he added, shortly after.

Gardenia arched a brow. "You wore a mask when you were a kid and told everyone you wanted to be a wrestler?!" she was slightly taken aback.

Wake nodded proudly. "You should put something on to cover your forehead and make an excuse out of it." he urged and pulled a large, black headband from out of his pocket.

"Take this." he handed it to her and flashed a grin.

Immediately, Gardenia thought of a reason to where it. "To keep my hair out of my face." she declared, proudly.

"Now you go on and take care on your way to Hearthome, little girlie. Don't go around getting' yourself into no trouble now." he reminded and gave her a playful wink. "Listen to your Grandpa. He knows best."

Gardenia giggled. "Ok, grandpa. Goodbye!" she waved a hand in the air in farewell and turned to leave.

As she headed towards the gates that exited Pastoria City, she slowly fastened the head band onto her forehead and grinned sheepishly.

-On with the show-

Hearthome City was only a little over a mile away. It took her an hour because she paced herself and took her time. By the time she got there, the sun was setting and the sky became dim with orange. She was beginning to miss her home and her family.

"Would they be able to recognize me when I return?" she asked herself. She looked the opposite of what she looked before; in fact, she was very sure that she looked like a completely different person. Her long hair distinguished her from everyone else, but now that it was gone… she looked much like a young boy.

"Darling, don't worry about a thing. You look lovely, regardless of the clothes you wear or how long your hair is." came a smooth, comforting voice. It reminded Gardenia of her own mother.

"Oh, darling. Unfortunately, I am not your mother. But perhaps I can be your Aunt?" Gardenia turned around to see a woman with a strange hairdo, four pouf balls; two on each side of her head. "I am Fantina. But you may call me Aunt Fan." she smiled in a most charming way. Gardenia felt intimidated.

"Don't fret, darling. I'm not as wonderful and cunning as you think."

It scared Gardenia a little bit on how Fantina knew _exactly_ what she was thinking. "It's because I'm psychic, darling. Don't be afraid." she laid a slim hand on her shoulder.

Her fingers were cold and long; it startled her just a bit. "I knew that you'd be coming. Professor Rowan has something for me, correct?" she arched a brow, knowing all too well. "I can already tell what Misdreveus is going to evolve into; but I could also be wrong as well." she quickly added.

"But just as everyone else, I shall accept this and play my part in Professor Rowan's studies." she nodded and snapped her fingers. The pokèball from Gardenia's bag floated in the air and landed into Fantina's hand.

"Wow…" Gardenia whispered in awe. "Wow, is correct." Fantina smiled. "Rest here, my dear. This is such a lovely city. One should never rush when in a beautiful place like this." she gestured her to a pokèmon center. "Let me take your jacket. You know, I sew my own dresses. Would you like me to make one for you too?" she asked, pulling out a sewing needle from out of nowhere.

Gardenia hesitated. "I-I don't like to wear dresses." she protested. Fantina laughed dreamily. "Well, of course. I can't make a dress out of a mere jacket, darling." then she nodded her head in assurance. "Don't worry, I am positive that you will like it. After all, I am psychic."

All of sudden, Gardenia felt a strong wave of fatigue go through her body as if it was some kind of invisible force. Then, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up feeling quite refreshed. Fantina stood in front of her holding a green, cover-up shawl. "Doesn't it remind you of your favorite pokèmon, darling?" she sounded delighted. Gardenia's eyes lit up. Cacnea was her current favorite; and the cover-up did remind her of the colors of a Cacnea as well.

"That's for me?!" was all she could say. She felt guilty about not giving anything to her in return. "No need to feel bad, darling. I made this out of complete enjoyment." Fantina laughed and fastened it over Gardenia's shoulders. "My, you look lovely. Now you should get to Sunyshore City and find your next man. He's just returned from his own journey and the League wants to appoint him as the new gym leader for his hometown." she exclaimed. "I'll have my little Abra teleport you there so you can find him before he accepts the job and becomes to busy to even talk to you." Then she sent out her Abra and pointed at Gardenia, her finger slightly touching her forehead.

"Will you teleport this darling girl to Sunyshore City? Don't you remember that place with the lighthouse?"

"Thank you so much, Aunt Fan! By the way, my name's-" but before she could even say her name, she was standing on the beach. The waves rolling in and tickling her feet. The rubber soles of her new hiking shoes getting slightly wet.

-How shocking-

It had been a little over a week since she was sent out on her deliveries and she was starting to feel dirty. The bad kind of dirty where she started feeling sick and sluggish. So she removed her clothes and kept her undershirt and underwear on. Then she swam and bathed in the ocean until she felt clean again. Gardenia used her Roselia's sunny day and sweet scent to her advantage and dried her clothes up and gave her a sweet, honey-mist scent. It only took a few minutes to become "clean" again.

"You shouldn't bathe in the ocean. It's unsanitary and it harms the environment for pokèmon who live there."

Gardenia looked up to see a boy, a little older than her. His head flickered brightly from the sun that reflected off of his beach-blonde hair. "Sorry." Gardenia apologized and looked down. The color of his hair was too bright for her eyes.

"You should have booked a night at one of the hotels." he explained and folded his arms over his chest. "I'm broke." Gardenia protested and shifted uncomfortably when he sat next to her on the sand. "Are you 'little girlie'?" he questioned, his eyes fixed on the sea.

"_What_?" Gardenia nearly choked on her own breath. "I saw Crasher Wake at Valor Lakefront earlier this morning. He told about this delivery girl with ripped jeans, hiking boots, short hair, and a black head band to hide her big forehead." he said, quickly.

"_What?_" Gardenia became agitated. "It was something like that." he stated and looked over at her with dull eyes. "You kind of look like a forest sprite or garden nymph. Why do you dress so funny?" then he yawned and stared at the clothes that hovered just above the horizon.

"It's a long story." Gardenia sighed.

Then silence enveloped between the two.

After about an hour passed, he spoke once again. "So when are you going to give me my pokèmon?" The arrogance in his voice was clear. Gardenia huffed and blew her bangs with aside with her lips in irritation. "Here it is." She threw him a pokèball. "An Aipom? Thanks." he said, with less enthusiasm.

In return, he gave her a shiny looking stone. Gardenia felt like an idiot and gave it to Roselia, who took a liking to the stone.

Then he leaned back and took a nap. Gardenia rolled her eyes. "Stupid boy." she muttered under her breath and got up to leave. The boy cracked open one eye and watched her start for home. "Weird girl." he mumbled and closed his eyes again.

The boy with light-brown hair sat on the couch, right next to a girl with long brown hair. Both of them had large eyes with slightly oversized foreheads. Everyone else commented on how elf-like they looked.

Across from them, sitting on a large chair, was an old man with their younger sibling; not old enough to talk yet, propped on his lap. "And that, kids, is how your mom and dad met." he flashed a grin.

The girl frowned. "But Uncle Wake, I thought this was a story about why mommy dresses like a forest fairy in those old pictures we saw in the photo album." she protested. Wake nodded and brushed her off. "It's the same thing, little girlie."

A/N: This is the reason why Gardenia dresses that way. (: Also, in the end, it's implied that she got married to either Roark or Volkner. The father is unknown for a reason. It's purposely ambiguous. It's up to you to decide who our little forest nymph married. (: I also have an epilogue for this that's coming up. Don't forget to review.


End file.
